Decision making underlying successful aerial contact in predatory flights: take-off, steering and thrust control
Abstract
Momentous decisions such as choosing a school or career require careful integration of pastevents with current information. We extrapolate how each possible option would result in different“futures” and in doing so choose the one we think is most appropriate. Such level of cognition ispossibly only present in humans. However, survival is often dependent on decisions that simplyrequire categorizing the current status of the world, without convoluted extrapolations. Suchassociative decisions are commonly categorized according to whether they are objective or subjective (accuracy vs value). By investigating how these simpler, and yet crucial, decisions are made, we will be able to understand how animals choose particular behaviours and better characterise the neural circuits that underpin decision making. Aerial insects that exhibit innate predatory behaviours are ideal animals to investigate how the decision to launch an attack is made. The circuit responsible for releasing the attack must integrate sensory derived signals that are perceptual (e.g. target suitability) with the state of the animal (e.g. hunger level). Yet, because the decision to attack must be made quickly, the classic speed-accuracy trade-off must also play a big part on such task performance. Here, we propose to investigate the motor commands that take place ahead of the attack being launched, what visual information is necessary to guide the initial flight direction and speed, and which neurotransmitters, peptides and brain neuropiles play a role in releasing the attack towards a small visual target. To investigate such decision making principles and their evolution, we have chosen robber flies, damselflies and killer flies due to their differences in body size, catch strategy and performance across differing environments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 19, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501810339
Entities
People
- Paloma Gonzalez Bellido
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Regents of the University of Minnesota
- United States Air Force